Your Guardian Angel
by Ristvak'baen
Summary: When Draco befriends a young child and her mother, his life takes an unexpected twist. He has three days to come up with a plan to save them. When he turns to the Order for help, things get even more unpredictable. [ HD ]
1. The meeting

**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter One: **The Meeting  
**Author: **RistvakBaen  
**Authors Notes: **Hello! I'm RistvakBaen. This is the first Drarry fanfiction I've done in awhile and so far I'm really enjoying working on it. I'm probably going to be posting one or two chapters a week, depending on how many chapters I've finished ahead of time. I don't want to hold you guys back any longer so onto the story!

* * *

Draco wandered slowly down the muddy path that led through the middle of the large park. He had found this place two or three years ago, during the summer before his fourth year and he had been coming back since then. It was the one thing that he missed when he went back to school each year. It was drizzling out but it wasn't bad. Not bad enough to keep him from his new sanctuary, at least. Whenever he needed a break from home, or his father this park is where he came. It was especially beautiful during the spring holidays, when the flowers were in full bloom and the sounds of birds could be heard for miles. Not that he would ever admit that he enjoyed any of that, but he did.

Apparently, the light rain didn't seem to bother the small group of children who were playing in the field a few yards in front of him. Their laughter was contagious and he was soon chuckling to himself. Here he didn't need to be someone else, someone that his father had molded. He could merely be himself. Draco. Not Draco Malfoy, the son of Lucius Malfoy and convicted Death Eater. Or … he had been a convicted death eater until a few days ago when he had been somehow released from Azkaban.

Lucius wouldn't dare speak a word on how he had been released but Draco didn't need to hear it from him. He already knew, really it wasn't all that hard to figure it out. He had used some dark spell or another, probably the Imperious, and he was released like that. It was brilliant and stupid. He knew Lord Voldemort hadn't had any part in getting Lucius out of Azkaban. It was his father who'd gotten himself out. One time he might have admired that but now he could only shake his head and move on.

Draco had changed for the better. He was no longer the stuck up snob that everyone thought he was. He played the part when he was in public - he couldn't drop his appearances - but when he was alone or with his friends he was able to simmer down and be himself.

_THUD_.

"What the he-" Draco groaned, grabbing his pounding head. A young girl was standing in front of him, she couldn't be any older then nine, clutching a large ball in her small hands. She was staring at him with large, frightened, almond-shaped blue eyes and for a moment Draco couldn't turn his eyes away even though they were somewhat unfocused because of the hard hit his poor head had taken. "I'm sorry, sir." The child apologized and Draco noticed that her hands were trembling. "I didn't mean to hit you, sir." Draco let go of his head and frowned. Her hair was everywhere and it gave out the impression that she had been out here for awhile.

"Don't worry about it. It was just an accident…unless you meant to hit me. Then we would have a little problem, wouldn't we?" He asked, bending down so that they were at eyelevel.

The child giggled, relaxing. "No, sir, no! Of course not, sir!"

Draco watched her for a long moment before he asked her what her name was, in a quieter tone. "Rayn, sir! Rayn Caraway!" She looked positively delighted when he had asked her such a personal question and he couldn't help but grin at her, which made her beam.

Ironic. He had met a girl named Rayn in the rain. Ah, yes. Amusing.

"Rayn. What a pretty name. I'm Draco." Rayn giggled again, and then she dropped the ball from her hands and blew a strand of that messy, wet flaming red hair out of her face. Hearing her name being called, Rayn looked over her shoulder and Draco watched as remembrance dawned on her petite face. "I'm coming!" she called before turning back to him. "Do you want to play?"

"Not today." Rayn frowned, a look that Draco decided did not suite her at all and then she nodded. "Will you play with us soon?" He nodded and suddenly, small arms were around him. He moved to hug her back but Rayn had already slipped away from his stomach. She had turned to kick the ball back at her friends and then scampered off after it. Rayn looked over her shoulder and giggled. "Goodbye sir Draco!"

He didn't know what to think of this as he slowly headed back down the path that he had come from. Even in such a short amount of time, Rayn had woven her way into his heart. There was something about her laugh and her messy hair that had reeled him in. He wondered if she had that effect on a lot of people and then shook the thought out of his head.

"Father would kill me if he heard about this." He said to the empty path, stuffing his pale hands into the pockets of his trousers and shaking his head. Draco closed his eyes and sped up his walk, the sounds of the children laughing and playing drowning out in the background until they were no more.

* * *

Lucius strode into the dining room, his head held remarkably high for someone who had just been released from Azkaban. Draco lifted his head when he father walked into the room. He had managed to get cleaned up and dry before dinner when he had gotten home from his walk and he looked more presentable, at least that's what Narcissa had told him when he had come to join her for dinner.

"…Good evening, Father." Draco and Lucius had started to fall out after Lucius had been captured in the Department of Mysteries during his fifth year but not enough to be uncivil to one another. Narcissa didn't like this at all because no good could come to her son if he did not trust in his father and she had made that known to Draco on more then one occasion since Lucius had been back.

"Evening." Lucius bent his head and Narcissa kissed his cheek in greeting, and then he sat down at the front of the table. "Draco. I have good news for you." He said, lifting his dark gaze to meet Draco's.

_Good news from Father…can't be good news at all_. He thought, concealing the look of suspicion that would have woven his way onto his face had he not had years of training to mask his emotions. "What is it, Father?" _Something to do with the Dark Lord, no doubt._

"I have spoken to the Dark Lord." _Ten points to Slytherin._ He thought with a mental laugh. He hated how his father could bring up the Dark Lord so calmly, as if it didn't affect him at all. "He believes that you are ready for your first mission, my son." Lucius informed, looking Draco straight in the eye as if challenging him to disagree with this. He didn't say anything and his father looked please. "This Thursday you will meet with him, privately and he will tell you what you are expected to do. I expect you to be ready for whatever he asks of you, Draco." Lucius said sternly before he waved Draco off with a brush of his hand.

Draco didn't need the permission to leave, he would have left anyway. His appetite was gone and uneasiness took its place. He murmured a quick good evening to his parents before he left the room, not looking back.

* * *

Being a Malfoy had taught Draco quite a lot of things in life. Most of them weren't all that good but he had survived on it for the better half of his life. He could never trust one person for too long, they would use that trust against him. He could never have just one lover; he had to have an entire handful. And under no circumstance was he ever, ever allowed to fall in love. Love would shatter you. It would destroy you from the inside out and Lucius had made sure that Draco knew this before he could even start walking.

As he got older, putting on the mask for his father only proved to get harder. Draco had perfected the Malfoy mask over the years but he had gotten sick of lying and hiding behind it. The task had only gotten harder after he had taken the Dark Mark.

He was not the sort of person that people around him had pictured him to be. He was snobby and arrogant and self-confident and defiantly rude but that was only one half of the picture. He cared for a lot of things, even if he didn't show it. It was his father and the people he claimed to be his friends who had shaped him out that way.

Yes, he was edgy and he defiantly had no tolerance for half-bloods. Muggles he didn't mind so much now that he had grown up a bit. It wasn't their fault that they had been born without magic. But Draco had seen some of the things that muggles could do without magic and it was astounding. He certainly couldn't have lived without it. How they did it was beyond him. He knew half-bloods hadn't had any control over what they were and he didn't blame the person, he blamed the parental units but he wouldn't let anyone know that.

Draco had changed a lot and it had mostly gone unnoticed.

Draco slowly lifted the sleeve on his left arm and sighed. The black dark mark stood out in horrible contrast to his beautifully pale skin. It was a ugly and horrendous thing that he didn't think he would ever get over. His father had made getting the mark seem like the greatest thing in the universe but it was really quite the opposite.

Really! Didn't the Dark Lord have any style? A skull with a snake coming out of his mouth, how horribly overused. He looked up then, shifting up to a sitting position on his bed. He concealed the mark and just in time. "Draco, darling? Are you awake?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Won't you come join me for tea?" Draco loved his mother and he would do everything and anything for her but she did have the worst timing. "I'd love too." he resigned, glancing down at his arm one last time before he slipped out of his bedroom to join Narcissa.

* * *

Harry sighed as he listened to the different conversations going through the dining room of Grimmauld Place. Fred and George were conversing in hushed tones with Tonks, who had come just a few hours before. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were talking quite loudly about what they wanted to do for the rest of the summer though they all knew that their time was limited and that they were expected to stay in the house or the back yard.

Voldemort's threat had increased ten fold during June, when they first got let out of school for the summer and had continued to increase as the days went by, and then there was the almost torrential rain. The sun was almost inexistent. Ah, the joys of summer. They had only been out for a month and the normal fun of summer they had when together were at the breaking point. It was just…boring. The other adults, excluding Tonks were also talking in whispers, something they had all grown accustomed too. Harry hadn't spoken throughout dinner, he merely listened. He had had nothing to say and thus, kept to himself.

Molly came bustling in from the kitchen, holding dessert in her hands. Homemade ice cream. "Brilliant!" Fred (or George, he wondered how he had went six years and still didn't know one from the other) exclaimed, moving their dirty plate out of the way. Molly made the best ice cream, even if she only made it on special occasions.

"What's the occasion mum?" George ( or was it Fred?) asked, looking up at the plump, smiling woman who was scooping ice cream into bowls. Harry could have laughed at the greedy looks on his friends face and he was sure one was on his own as well.

"I just thought it would be a nice dessert." She knew how much her children and their friends loved her ice cream and it would be a nice change of pace. George and Fred grinned, scooping a spoonful of ice cream from their bowls that Molly had given to them and eating it happily.

A chorus of thank you's filled the dining room once everyone had grabbed a bowl and began to eat. Being around a family like the Weasley's had always eased Harry's ever growing fear and there were times like this where he was just able to forget all of his fears and worries. It was nice, welcomed and embraced when those rare times came around.

"Mum makes the best ice cream," Ginny leaned over to whisper to him, looking remarkably like the twins.

"Yeah, she does!" Ron agreed, already taking quick bites of his. "I wonder what Mum is hiding from us. The last time she made it was ages ago."

"The night before my first day at Hogwarts, I think." Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. "It's so good, Harry! Try some." She coaxed.

Harry took a bite of his ice cream. They were right; Mrs. Weasley did make good ice cream. He didn't have much experience with homemade sweets. He was rarely allowed to eat any of it at the Dursley's and he wasn't sure if the food that the House Elves made counted. "It's good."

"Isn't it?!" She smiled, patting his arm and returning to her bowl of vanilla ice cream.

He sighed, turning his gaze out the window at the pouring rain. Lightning was dancing across the skies, a shocking bluish yellow color. It was amazing to witness, terrifying too. Out there, in the dark, Lord Voldemort was plotting and scheming and twining more fear into the hearts of his friends and family. Harry shivered and it didn't go unnoticed by a pair of watchful eyes across from him. He closed his eyes, finally turning away from the display and returned to his bowl of ice cream as the talking was reincarnated around him.

* * *

_End of Chapter One..._


	2. Of spellbooks and badminton

**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter two:** Of spellbooks and badminton  
**Author:** Ristvakbaen  
**Authors Notes**: Here's chapter two! I enjoyed this chapter quite a bit. It was a fun one to write so I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Harry slept through the night without a dream or a nightmare. It was on these occasions that he had a tendency to sleep well into the afternoon. Not that anyone really cared about it as they all knew how much sleep he needed when he could get it. Ginny Weasley had been exceptionally careful that afternoon, going as far as to have her mother put up a silencing charm around Harry and Ron's room so that Harry wouldn't hear the rest of the racket that came with the house and living with large groups of people at any given time. Ginny smiled at her handy work, standing outside his door. She and Harry were not going out, he had made sure she had known that one he came to live with her and the family at Grimmauld Place . She had been hurt, understandably so, but had so far gone without working on her desires. He had enough of that from his crazy fan girls and she would not stoop that low.

"Come on, Gin. We're going to go outside while the rain has stopped." Hermione's voice suddenly snapped her out of her musings and she turned around to face the brown haired girl with a light smile. "Okay." She said. It would be smart to take advantage of the sunlight. Hermione returned the smile, turning around to head off. She left Ginny at Harry's door, thinking.

Ginny eyed his door for a minute longer. Knowing that he was in there, sleeping was…she didn't know, really. Shaking her head, Ginny licked her lips and followed the sound of Hermione and Ron at the bottom of the stairs.

"What were you doing up there?" Ron asked suspiciously. Hermione looked rather guilty and Ginny sighed, figuring that she had told him what she had seen her doing. "I put a silencing charm on his door so that we wouldn't disturb him. Thanks for telling him," she added nastily as the three left through the back door. They had been strictly forbidden from going into the front yard as they could be seen but in the back they were invisible to anyone who looked their way. The back yard is where they spent as much time in the sun as they could practically muster without the interference of the rain. Sometimes even in the rain, if they got lucky.  
"I'm sorry. He asked!"

Ginny shook her head, wondering why she hadn't expected to be questioned before. "Its alright."

"I don't see why you had to put up a silencing charm though. Harry's a deep sleeper and we're going to be outside." Ron pointed out, eyeing his only sister for a moment.

"I didn't know we were going outside and I thought it would be nice." Ron and Hermione exchanged looks with one another as Ginny closed the door. It still smelled like rain outside and the ground was still damp but the sun was out and shining above. "I don't see what the two are you are getting so worked up for."

Hermione frowned. "It's nothing, really. Come on; let's play a game or something." Ginny sighed and watched as Hermione walked towards the shed that Sirius had built with the help of Fred and George earlier that summer. They had stuffed it with different things, like muggle sports balls and different things that the kids could entertain themselves with. "Have either of you ever played badminton?"

Ten minutes later, Hermione had given the other two rackets and was demonstrating how you hit the birdie, to Ron's highest amusement.

"Why in the world is it called a birdie?" he asked for the third time. Ginny's lips twitched at Hermione's exasperated expression, trying not to laugh. "I don't know, Ronald. It just is." She explained, tossing the birdie up into the air and whacking it with her racket. "See, that was an upper-hand serve. You toss it up and smack it."

"Can you kill somebody with it?"

"No, Ron. I told you that." Ginny grinned, shaking her head as she picked up the birdy Hermione had hit, tossing it into the air as she had instructed but missing completely. "Bloody hell…" she murmured, trying again. In a flash, the birdy had whacked Ron in the back of the head.  
"Watch where you're hitting the damn bird!"

"It's called a birdie"

Hermione cleared her throat loudly, drawing the brother and sister's attention back to her. "Can we play now?" She asked, her racket dangling at her side. If she was amused at the two then she did a good job of hiding it. Ron grumbled something, handing her the birdy before moving back to where he had been standing. "You and Ginny can play on one side, and I'll be on the opposite. I'll teach you how, along the way."

The trio moved onto their respective sides and Hermione did as she said, teaching them how to play the game of badminton. Neither knew, on the other side of England , someone was plotting. A plot that would change their lives entirely.

* * *

Draco sighed as he watched the same children, and more he suspected, at play in the field. He had come back at the same time from the day before to watch again. He spotted Rayn easily in the group of kids. He couldn't tell what they were playing but it involved running around and what looked like…a rubber chicken. He raised a brow before shaking his head.

Muggles were weird. It had only been a few months since he had started to get over his muggle and muggle-born prejudices but it had come surprisingly easy. They really were intelligent and what they could do without magic. It was amazing.

Tea with his mother the night before had gone surprisingly well and he had found out that she knew more about him that he had let on. Thankfully, Lucius had left the house for the rest of the night so they had been undisturbed. His mother hadn't been the affectionate type since he had been a small toddler but speaking to her, away from his fathers watchful eyes, had changed his thoughts about the woman completely. He loved her, always would, and that love had only grown stronger during their tea meeting.

Somehow, Narcissa had found out about his muggle children watching and the park. She hadn't told him how she had known and he hadn't pressed her for unneeded details. She had said that she had been proud of him that he was getting over those morals, especially since she could not herself. She had grown up with them all her life and despite trying hard too over the last few months, it was hard to grow out of. Draco had understood, just thankful that he could get over it himself.

Their conversation had gone through everything he had been thinking about. The war, the children, Voldemort and his dad's new plans on what he was going to have to do. Unsurprisingly Narcissa hadn't had a clue on what Voldemort might make him do and he didn't fault her for this. He merely nodded his head and changed to another topic.

He turned his gaze to the group of adults sitting on the benches on the far side of the field. "Sir Draco!" He looked up. Rayn, holding the rubber chicken was running towards him with a group of children running after her. It appeared that they were trying to tag her. She didn't stop when she got to him, turning around quickly and hiding behind his legs. "Don't let them get me!" she squealed, pressing her face into the back of his thighs, like it would make her invisible.

The children reached around his legs and Draco found himself chuckling at the irony of the situation. "No! No! Don't let them, Sir Draco!" He bent down suddenly, lifting Rayn up and off the ground so that the rubber chicken couldn't be pulled out of her hands. She giggled, holding the chicken to her chest with one hand, the other arm wrapped around his shoulders tightly.

"Rayn!" A voice suddenly froze the children in their attempts to grab at her legs which were wrapped tightly around his middle. "What are you doing to this young gentleman?"

Rayn lifted her head weakly and looked at the woman in front of her and Draco. Draco could tell that she was her mother. Her mothers hair was tied back in a ponytail and she could not have been any older then twenty four. "Sir Draco!" Rayn announced and understanding flashed on the woman's face.

"So you're 'Sir Draco'?" And her exasperated expression changed to a loving, smiling one. "Rayn has talked of nothing but you since yesterday." Draco blinked and she continued. "My name is Iris. It's nice to meet you…Sir Draco." She offered her hand to him and he shifted Rayn to one side so he could shake Iris' hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," He said, bowing his head at her. Normally he would have kissed her hand but holding Rayn disabled him from doing so. He smiled his most charming smile that would make any teenaged girl faint and nodded. Iris returned the simple gesture, looking at the children. "Rayn, hunny, give them the rubber chicken back."

"Mummmmy…" she whined, pouting. Her mother reached out her hand and Rayn reluctantly dropped the rubber chicken into her mom's hand, who in turn passed it to the children. "I wanna play with Sir Chicken…"  
Draco set Rayn back down onto the solid ground and she plopped down onto the grass, whining still. "I'm sorry about her." Iris apologized.

Draco shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He said as he moved to squat down by her. "Come on. Smile."

If any of his school mates had seen this, they would have been completely bewildered. Draco was socializing with Muggles and was smiling? Draco Malfoy smiled? Draco was stunned at himself even. He had never felt so at ease with Muggles but Rayn and Iris…well, they seemed to be just like him in an odd sort of way. He didn't know how he was going to explain this to his father if Lucius ever found out, which he was sure that he would if his mother had caught on, and made a mental note to start thinking of an explanation.

Rayn blinked up at him before nodding lightly. She smiled, wrapping her arms around his arm, clinging to him. Iris watched with gentle affection and she could not deny that it caused her gut to clench seeing her look so happy, even if it was with a strange boy. Granted, when Rayn had been dropped off by her friends' mother, running inside to announce that she had met a boy named Sir Draco, she had been unnerved that her daughter had been talking to strangers but now that she had met him her opinion was beginning to change. He was polite and he obviously enjoyed playing with Rayn.

"Sir Draco can play?" Rayn asked, looking at her mother with that same smile. Iris shook her head slowly. "No, honey. I'm sure Draco has other things to-"

"I'd love too." The words flew out of his mouth before he realized what he had said. "Err…I mean," Rayn's shriek of happiness echoed throughout the field. Grabbing Draco and Iris' hands, she tugged. "Play, play. Lets play!" Iris watched Draco as he stood up. When he turned to her, questioningly, she shook her head. "Thank you."

"What did I do?" Rayn was completely oblivious to her elders, still tugging on their hands.

"Rayn, hunny go get your bag, won't you?" Iris evaded his question even after she had scampered off to get the mysterious bag. "Nothing, really." Iris finally answered. "It's been awhile since she had anyone willingly play with her. She's a bit of a loner, sometimes."

"That doesn't make sense." He had seen her playing with the children even before he had known who Rayn was. She had seemed to get along well with the other children from afar. Had he missed something?

"I know. She is singled out. They play with her because she submits so easily." Iris began her explanation. "She does things without being asked twice. It is a good thing and a bad, I guess." She said lightly. A feeling of uneasiness settled between the two. "I can't say anything to the kids either. They're her only 'friends' and she needs them more then I'd like to believe."

There was something so familiar about this situation. Something he couldn't quite place but knew somewhere in the back of his head that understood. "She loves being out here and that makes me happy so I haven't said anything." A part of him wanted to lash out at Iris but another (the sane, sensible one) could understand why she couldn't do it. It would mean possibly taking away Rayn's friends and having her drift further. "She doesn't deserve that." He finally said.

"I know."

"Mummy! I got the bag." Rayn chirped, skipping back to her two elders, the bag swinging in her hand at her side. "Can we play go fish?"

"We're going fishing?"

"No silly! Cards." She said simply, as if it was the answer to every question on earth. Rayn plopped down on the damp ground and opened the bag. She pulled a deck of cards out of the bag, waving them around in front of her so that her mother and Draco could see. "Can we?"

"I can teach you if you've never played before." Iris said as she also sat down. Draco wasn't able to refuse, even despite the fact that he found this whole idea quite strange. "Alright. Why not?" He did not miss the hidden smile on Iris' face as she passed him a small stack of the muggle cards.

* * *

Narcissa was sitting in the large family room, the Daily Prophet in her hands. Dinner had been small that day, with only her and Draco attending. Not that it was very large in the first place. Lucius had left earlier that afternoon for a 'meeting' and he hadn't returned for dinner. She sighed, flicking through the pages idly. There was nothing interesting these days. A lot of baloney on Voldemort and possible sightings. She knew for a fact that all of these 'sightings' were false.

"Narcissa, I need to speak to you." Narcissa looked up from the Prophet to see her husband standing in front of the door. "It is about our son."

Lucius was never a man to waste time especially when he was under a strict command. "My Lord has given me his order for Draco." He began, gaze never leaving Narcissa. Narcissa didn't blink or move. "I know about the girl, Narcissa. Why are you blocking me from your mind?" She couldn't move now, even if she wanted too. If Lucius knew about the child then he had told the Dark Lord. "Lucius…"

"He is to kill her."

"Lucius!"

Lucius' gaze narrowed. "He will kill her and her filthy parents in the name of the Dark Lord." He said, so softly that Narcissa had to strain to hear what he was saying. "He will make me proud and he will do it happily."

"Muggle or not she is a little girl!" It was a rare thing to see Narcissa speak out against her husband but Draco had told her more about the child and about what he had been doing that day at the park before Lucius had gotten home from his meeting. Draco had even spoken kindly about her muggle mother.

"He cannot be associating with filth. How dare you speak against me. Your husband. He will kill her with a smile on his face and I will be the one with him to make sure of it." There was a flash of movement and Narcissa looked around Lucius to see what it was. She saw a rag pass by and sighed. A house elf, probably. "Is that understood, Narcissa?" he asked. Lucius was glaring but it wasn't at her. He was looking up at the mirror above the family room's fireplace.

She nodded her head even though she did not. Narcissa knew better then to argue with Lucius. He was already at his breaking point and she didn't want to be the one to bring him to explosion. "I understand."

Some of the tension in her husbands face wore away in front of her eyes. "Good. We will forget that this ever happened." Narcissa nodded and Lucius strode out of the room, his robes billowing out around his legs. She set the Prophet down in her lap and sighed. She knew her son better then anyone believed. Draco would not be able to kill this girl in cold blood. He had spoken so highly of her and her mother that evening. It had been so nice to see her son smiling again and now this had to happen.

There had to be a way out of this. One that would save her son and that muggle family. "Tripsy!" Narcissa yelled.

_POP_.

A young house elf appeared at her side in an instant. Large, watery blue eyes stared up at her. The house elf was wearing a relatively new rag although it was already stained, dirty, ripped and smelled like mold. It was dreadful. Narcissa scrunched up her nose against the smell. "Bring me my Transfiguration spell books, please." Tripsy's already large eyes widened. "Yes! Yes, of course, mistress. Tripsy will bring them all!" With another pop, the elf was gone.

"I just hope that I still have that book." She thought aloud.

* * *

Ginny and Ron had finally gotten a hang of hitting the birdie. Their aim was notorious but at least they were hitting it, was Hermione's way of thinking. The birdie came towards her and lifting the racket, she whacked it back to Ron. They had been playing all day, taking breaks in between when they couldn't breathe anymore because they were laughing so hard. Harry had even came in and played before they had went in for lunch.

"Oi!" Ron smacked it back, missing horribly. "You missed!" His elder brother George chortled from the side lines. George and Fred had taken to commentary and they did it surprisingly well, making sure to constantly bash their little brother whenever it was possible. Fred and George exchanged grins. "And Harry Potter takes the birdie! It's a hard shot…with a slight breeze!" Harry looked at them, licking the tip of his finger and lifting it into the air to entertain the twins further. "He tests the wind! George, mate, he seems in good spirits. I think he knows just what he's going to do, don't you?"

"I couldn't agree more, Fred. Harry winds up and YES! He hit the birdie! It goes sailing over the net and Ickle-Ronnie-Kins has just managed to hit it in the air! Oh but it just misses the net! What do you think about that hit, Fred?"

"It was not a bad hit but George; I think his teammate is getting a bit frustrated over there!"

"Oh yes. Ginny! I wonder what she has to say about her brother's inability to keep the birdie in the air."

"I don't know, Fred! We might have to stop her at the end of this match and get an interview!"

"Yes! We just might."

Ginny laughed, shaking her head at her brothers. If anything could be said about them it was that they never failed to fully amuse a crowd. She lifted her racket at them threateningly. "I'm not giving either of you an interview!"

"Well, Fred. That's upsetting."

"Sure is, George."

"Oh shut up." Ginny rolled her eyes, trying to stifle her giggles. Even Ron was laughing by now, even though most of their jokes were directed on him and his superb badminton skills.

"She's got quite the mouth on her, she does! Reminds you of someone, doesn't it?" The twins exchanged secretive grins.

"Yes she certainly does."

"And who might that be?" Hermione asked, grabbing the birdie but hesitating at hitting it over as all attention had been drawn to the identical faces a few feet away. "I don't think that information is necessary, Hermione. You'll live just fine without knowing."

"Fred is right." George chimed in, clapping his brother on the shoulder. Hermione shook her head, hitting the birdie to Ginny and Ron and the game began again under her serve.

* * *

"C'mon, let's go in. Its getting dark," Ginny announced an hour later when the sun started to set behind the trees in the back of the Black house. The group was getting exhausted after playing all day and they didn't need to be told twice. "Maybe we could make a bomb-fire tonight. Wouldn't that be nice, Harry?" she asked, jogging up to him with a smile.

Harry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know how to handle Ginny sometimes and now was one of those times. He shrugged lightly, looking forward again. "I heard it was supposed to rain again tonight." He did not miss the put-out look on her freckled face.

"What is it with the rain lately anyway?" Ron muttered. He had made it known numerous times over that he was getting sick of the rain. It was astonishing that they had went all day without a single shower.

"I don't know. I liked the rain at the beginning of the summer but now it's just a burden." Hermione shrugged. Ginny sighed, falling behind a bit. She didn't like being humiliated in front of her friends like that, by Harry especially. Not that he had said anything offensive but…it still struck a nail inside of her. She sighed. The group of five walked into the house, all chattering amongst themselves except for Ginny. They stopped when they heard Molly speaking in the closed doors of the dining room.

"Oh, Severus. We weren't expecting you. I'm sorry I have nothing to offer you."

Ron furrowed his brows, blinking as he heard his potions professors' name. He mouthed 'Snape?' and Harry shrugged. "My visit wasn't planned." Yup. That voice belonged without a doubt to their least favorite professor. "Is Lupin or Arthur here?"

"No…they're out right now."

Snape said something then, that they couldn't hear and then their was the sound of a door closing.

"What in the-" Molly came scuttling into the front hall, where the gang was standing. "Oh! Hello. Done with your game, are you?"

"Yeah. What did Snape want?"

"Professor Snape, Ronald." Molly corrected. "Nothing. He wanted to speak with Remus or you're father. Now busy yourselves upstairs when I cook something to eat." Ginny and George turned on the heels of their feet, following their mother into the kitchen.

"…What do you think that was about?" Harry asked once they were gone. He looked at Ron and Hermione; his two friends looked just as puzzled as he did. "I…don't know, Harry." Hermione was the one who answered, leading them up the stairs.

"Mum was acting weird, though." Ron commented lightly, frowning.

"Hell…everything is a bit off lately."

"I'm going to go read. Lupin gave me another couple of books that seem fascinating." Hermione had been doing research for the Order by reading up in old history books and other various books that gave off any information about the first war with Voldemort. Hermione had made it her mission to find any piece of information that she possibly could in order to help the Order since they were still too young to join it formally.

"Alright. Don't stay up too late." Ron advised, giving Hermione a brief hug that was soon followed by one from Harry as they exchanged good nights. Hermione smiled, advising him that she wouldn't before she disappeared behind the door of the bedroom she was currently sharing with Ginny. "Good night!" she called over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.

* * *

_The end of Chapter two..._


	3. The joke shop

**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter Three: **The Joke Shop  
**Author: **Ristvakbaen  
**Author Note: **Originally I was going to wait a few days before I posted this chapter. I waited before posting this story entirely until I had five chapters done. However, I'm really proud of this so far so I decided to add in Chapter three now. Enjoy.

* * *

Draco locked his bedroom door with his heart pounding away in his chest. He had been going to talk to his mother when he had overheard his father's conversation. Draco leaned back against the door, suddenly feeling light headed.

He had just put Rayn and Iris on Voldemort's hit-list. How could I have _looked this over? I should have known… _He thought, barely holding himself up against the door. He couldn't possibly kill Rayn and her mother. He felt like he had to protect them. Absently he wondered if this was how Potter always felt. Obliged to protect and serve and all that crap he'd over-looked.

"What the hell am I going to do?" he asked the empty room, shaking his head listlessly. His stomach was in knots, so much that it hurt. He took a deep breath as he tried to steady himself. "This is not good."

Not good was an understatement.

He had taken Iris' faith and trust and threw it out the window. He had thrown poor Rayn's trust right out there with it. "What kind of person does this make me?" he asked. He didn't know the answer to that question and he didn't want too. He moved away from the door optioning instead to heading towards the window. He silently pushed it open, lifting himself out the window.

There was no moonlight but he could see fine from the lights coming from the windows of the Manor. His mother's garden plants swayed in the gentle breeze, rustling together. His mother took great pride in the Malfoy gardens. They went on for acres and acres. There was even a hedge-labyrinth in the far back of the gardens. Draco had bad memories with that labyrinth and stuck away from it whenever he could.

He sat down against the base of one of the trees, staring at his knees and thinking. He knew the basic objective of his father's mission. He was to kill her and Iris for the Dark Lord. And he knew what he had to do. He had to protect them. So…that meant finding a way to keep Rayn and her mother safe while it looked like he killed them because he most certainly could not deny the Dark Lord. He wasn't ready to risk his life, even for someone he did care about.

His father would most likely be there with him to make sure he killed them off. If not Lucius then the Dark Lord. Draco made a silent prayer to whoever would listen that it was his Father and not Voldemort. Tricking Voldemort would be one hundred times harder then tricking Lucius would be. He pulled his knees up closer to his chest, closing his eyes.

There were two things he could do now, he figured out. "It might even come down to both…" he muttered, looking up silently. "Tripsy!" he called out into the darkness. Tripsy never spoke to his father. She worked solely for Narcissa and himself. She came in the blink of an eye.

"Yes Master Malfoy?" the young house elf squeaked.

"I need you to tell my mother that I am going to London. Please make sure that my father does not hear of this."

"Of course, Master Malfoy! Of course."

He waited until she was gone before climbing back into his room. He didn't have much time to make up a full proof plan. Time was ticking away and if he wanted to make this work he'd have to work fast. He grabbed a quick change of clothes from his closet, tossing them absently into his bag. He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long moment.

White blonde hair that fell just below the length of his chin, he no longer wore it gelled back. Tall and slender but not lanky and rather muscular. He had his father's build that was certain. Dark eyes that could turn to ice in an instant, Draco smirked then. "Draco Malfoy…you are a genius."

Draco groaned in disgust as he stepped out of the Knight Bus, feeling rather sick to his stomach. As fast as the bus had gotten him to London and as greatly as he appreciated it and knew it was worth it, he was never, ever doing that again. After tossing Stan Shunpike a tip, he headed into the Leaky Cauldron. The bar had no visitors but that was too being expected at such a late hour. He sighed, looking around. He'd called ahead on the Knight Bus to reserve himself a room to stay in for the night and Tom had said that he would meet him out in the bar.

"Mr. Malfoy, good to see you." Tom wheezed, coming out from behind him. Tom was holding a small, glittering silver key in the palm of his hand that was outstretched towards Draco. "And you."

Tom dropped the key into his hand. "Can I get you something before you depart for your room?"

"No thank you. I'd just like to get to bed. It has been a long day." A long day was an understatement. Tom understood and he nodded, his wheezing loud in the silence. "Of course, good night." Draco took his leave, heading up the stairs to his bedroom.

He walked as quietly as he could as he didn't want to disturb the other wizards and witches staying at the inn that night. He found his room with relative ease, tugging out the key from his pocket.

He slid the key into the lock, clicking it open. He turned on the light switch, grunting. It wasn't the best room he could have asked for but Draco knew better then to complain. It was only for one night after-all. Tomorrow he'd wake up and be done with it. Draco rid himself of his clothing, climbing into the bed albeit reluctantly. He rolled onto his side, holding the old blankets close to his chest.

If his father found out his real plans, he would be on his own death wish. It was astounding for him. Only a few years ago, if even that, he wouldn't have even bothered. He would of happily killed off a Muggle and her mother for the Dark Lord. _It's scary how much I have changed. Mother would be proud. _At least he had that thought to comfort him. His mothers acceptance is all that he cared about now, Lucius be damned.

_My plan is almost full-proof now. There is just one problem. Finding out where they live and getting their ahead of time. _Yeah, that was going to be difficult. His father would expect him to go to the house with him, and getting there before Lucius might be the downfall of his entire plan. _If I can convince Father to come after then I'd be set. If I can't then I'll have to find another way. There has to be one…_

He stared into the darkness of the room until his eyelids began to get heavy and he started to doze off. The last thing he seen before he dozed off to sleep was the fleeting image of Harry Potter and he dully acknowledged in the back of his mind that maybe Potter did deserve some slack after-all, if this was the sort of thing he had to deal with every day.

* * *

"I don't think this is such a good idea, boys. I'm sure you can take another day off. You do own it."

"We do but we need to go in. We took off all of last week because you asked us not to go in. The place is probably a mess and it's a significant drop in business, Mum. A few days won't harm us."

Harry walked into the kitchen, yawning sleepily. "Ugh…what time is it?" he asked, hardly hearing the conversation going on around him. He was unsure how he managed to get dressed so tiredly. Molly looked at him for a moment, smiling briefly. "Harry! Good morning." The twins chirped in unison.

"Hello Harry dear." Molly said. "Breakfast is almost done."

"Do you want to come with us to Diagon Alley?" Fred asked excitedly. "We're going down to the shop and we've got loads of new stuff that we could show you."

"Yeah! Of course the discount for you is still in effect." George winked.

Harry nodded. He hadn't been down to the twin's shop in awhile and it sounded like a good idea. "Yeah, I'd love too."

"Smashing!"

"Brilliant!"

"We'll have him home by lunchtime."

"Fred! George. I said-"

"No." One said.

"It's too dangerous." The other.

"Take another day off,"

"It won't hurt you." They recited.

"Sorry mum. We've got a job. We need to work." George muttered.

"We would if we could but we can't. It'll be a few hours. We'll be home in no time."

Molly looked like she was going to cry and throw a fit. However, she slowly gave in. "Fine! Just go!"

"Thanks mum. We love you." George grinned. He did feel sorry for his Mum. There was no denying that. Molly simply worried far too much for her own good. Then again, she was a mother of seven during the time of a war and he supposed that it was expected of her. He kissed her cheek in assurance, offering her a small smile.

"We do. We'll see you soon. Come on, Harry. We'll apparate there." Fred took his arm in his, looking at Harry for a moment. "Are you ready, mate?" When he nodded, Fred grinned and apparated them out of the house. Normally they wouldn't have been able to apparate out of the house but Mad-Eye Moody had set up a link directly from Grimmauld Place to their shop so that they didn't have to risk going outside.

* * *

"It hasn't changed much but we added a lot more stuff." Fred explained, turning on the flashing lights in the front window and unlocking the door to their shop.

"Yup. So have a look around. Anything you want is yours!" Harry smiled, thanking them as he headed down one of the rows of shelves to take a look at their products. Fred and George had been right when they had said they had added a few new items. New boxes were everywhere, some already half-empty. He let his gaze wander over the names, occasionally stopping to pick something up to read the information about it.

"This is pretty amazing!"

"Thanks. Check out the new defense things. In the back, just like last time."

Harry headed into the back of the shop, grinning. He pushed aside the small curtain, walking into the dark room that lay behind it. There was the sound of a bell as he walked back but he hadn't had the chance to see who had come in.

* * *

Fred smiled at the ringing bell, turning to greet their potential customer. "Good morning! May I – Malfoy?!"

Draco Malfoy stood in front of their door, looking around slowly, nervously even. "Yeah…Fred, right?" He asked, letting his gaze settle on the ginger haired twin.

What surprised him even more then the act that Draco knew him from George was the fact that he was actually being civil. "You got it in one. Can I help you with anything?"

Draco nodded. "Shield charms. An amulet, clothing, anything that protects the wearer from basic spells." He said striding towards them.

"Oh we've got loads of shield and defense items in the back. Right through that door." He said, sounding surprised as he pointed to the curtained room. Draco nodded, walking to the back.

"Uh Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"You just sent Malfoy into the back room."

"I know."

"Draco Malfoy."

"Duh. Draco isn't a very common name." Fred rolled his eyes, looking to him.

"Yes. But he's in the back room."

"I know that. I sent him back there."

"With Harry Potter." George dead-panned, staring in disbelief at his identical twin.

"Oh fuck!"

* * *

Harry was completely unaware of Fred and George as he looked through the assortment of new items the twins had in stock in the back room. He heard footsteps and quickly turned to look around, thinking that it might be one of the twins. "…Malfoy!" Of all the people to run into in the back of the joke shop it had to be Malfoy.

Malfoy looked stressed and tired. Like he hadn't had a good night sleep the day before. Harry couldn't imagine how that was possible if the rumors of the house the other boy lived in were true. He couldn't even imagine how big his bed, let alone his room, really was. It stuck him as odd that he was standing there contemplating how big Malfoy's bed and room were. He shook his head, standing upright.

Draco stopped, staring at him. "Potter." He greeted dully. Figures he'd run into the saint here. He sighed. "Do you know where the shield section is?"

That had not been the answer he had been expecting. A verbal explosion and a hex would have been a lot closer to his expectation. Instead Malfoy wanted to know about shield items? "Uh…yeah, they're right here actually."

Draco nodded, striding towards him. "Great." Harry watched from his spot as Draco sorted through the different boxes and things on the shelf uneasily. Draco's fingers were trembling, he noticed absently. "Malfoy?" He frowned. "Do you need any help?"

"I don't need your help. I'm perfectly capable by myself." Ouch, that stung. "I never said you weren't. I just asked if you wanted my help."

Draco ignored Harry, looking at a pair of squeaking glasses he'd just pulled off the shelf. He raised a brow, deciding not to comment on the pair and sat them down. Harry frowned, the nagging voice in his head telling him to try and start conversation again. "So…"

Draco twirled around. "If you really feel the need to use you're damn hero complex on me then fine. Get me a couple of shielding items. Two of all of them!" He snapped, narrowing his eyes.

Harry nodded, quickly walking down the aisle. He felt Draco watching him. "How many do you need?"

"All of the sensible things."

"Okay. Over here then." Draco joined him a few seconds later. "Amulets, charms, blankets, all you need." He said. Draco nodded, taking some of the items off the shelf. "What do you need these for?" He asked, taking some of the load off the blond boy in front of him.

"It's none of your business, Potter and I can carry these by myself."

"I know."

"…Arse." Draco muttered before turning around and heading for the front desk. Harry grinned, following behind him.

* * *

"Reckon they've killed each other?"

"Nah…I haven't heard anything."

At that moment, they appeared from behind the curtain. Fred gaped and George stared. Harry was helping Malfoy carry his things? What did they miss? "Close your mouth, Weasley. You're salivating." He and Harry dropped his purchases onto the front counter. "All of this. Please."

"Yes, yes. Of course."

"I'm going back to have a look around." He paused. "See you in school, Malfoy."

Draco nodded. He watched Harry walk away stealthily but George caught it anyway. He smirked. "Here. Let me check you out."

Five minutes later, Draco had a bag full of his purchases. "Thanks for shopping." George said to his back. Draco stopped with the door held open. "No…thank you." And with that he was gone.

George exchanged a look with his twin. "Well…"

* * *

Draco checked out of the Leaky Cauldron at noon later that day. He floo'd home this time, not wanting to bother with the Knight Bus once again.

Lucius was waiting for him when he stepped out of the Fire place. "Where have you been, Draco?" His voice was deathly soft and on any other occasion it would have frightened Draco a great amount. However, he had the perfect excuse for this and as long as Lucius didn't ask to see them then he was fine.

"Diagon Alley." He touched the shrunken bag in his pocket. "Looking for something's that I need for the school year."

"Ah."

"I'm going to sleep, if you don't mind Father."

Lucius nodded absently. "I know you overheard your mother and I, son." Draco froze. "Are you ready for your mission?"

"Yes, father."

"Are you prepared?" That was a stupid question. Draco had learned at an early age that he had to be prepared for everything and anything. Lucius had taught him a lot early on in life and even though Draco didn't exactly favor his father anymore, he would be forever grateful for the lessons Lucius taught him.

"I am, father."

"Good. You may go. Tell your mother that I will return within the hour." Lucius didn't say goodbye, he stepped into the fireplace, said something that Draco couldn't catch and then he was gone.

Draco sighed, pulling the bag out of his pocket. It immediately grew to its large size. He took them up the stairs to his bedroom, locking the door behind him. He didn't have the time to be bothered with anything right now. On his bed, a book laid opened a note scribbled on the top of the well-worn page.

_I find that this book might help you with your mission. Read this wisely, Draco. I believe in you. I know you will make the right decision. I love you._

Draco read the note, and then read the page the note was inscribed on. Slowly, he began to smile. "I really do have a chance now." He whispered.

* * *

_The end of chapter three..._


	4. I'd say you were worried about him

**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter Four:** "I'd say you were worried about him"  
**Author:** Ristvakbaen  
**Author Note: **It's been about a week since I originally posted this and I apologize again for having posted three chapters in one day. Normally I do not do that and I won't be doing it again. Have you all read Deathly Hallows? I loved it. I'm not going to spoil anything in this fanfiction and since it was started before Deathly Hallows it is very likely that I won't have anything from the book in this fanfiction. Now...onto the story.

* * *

Draco walked quickly down the cobble stoned path. His boots thumping in sync beneath him. He was carrying a small bag in his hands. He knew Rayn would be there and if he could get lucky, Iris would be as well. He wanted to meet up with the both of them again before tomorrow. It was a part of his perfect plan that he had spent all night planning. In order to go through with it, he had to know where they lived. It wasn't raining but Draco could feel it in the air. A storm would be coming; he just hoped it wouldn't ruin his plans.

"Over here, Sir Draco!"

He looked over. Beneath a large, flowering tree Ray sat it her mothers lap, doodling on a sheet of paper. Iris smiled warmly and he was amazed at how welcoming she was with him. "Hello, dear." She ushered for him to sit down. "No thank you." Rayn blinked, looking up at him immediately. "Sir Draco is not staying?"

"Not at the park. I have another idea, though. I'd love to take you and your Mother out for ice cream before it gets too dark." He winked at the young girl. "I know a nice place and it isn't all that far away from here."

"ICE CREAM!"

"Oh, no…I just couldn't let you do that." Iris said, shaking her head slowly.

"I want too. I can drive you home afterwards if it's not too late." Thankfully they had a Muggle car incase of emergencies. His mother had purchased it not that long ago and this was not the first time that it had come in handy. He smiled his most charming smile, hoping to win her over. It worked.

Iris caved. "Yes. Alright then." Rayn squealed with glee, hoping out of her mother's lap. "My car isn't parked that far from here." He said, helping them gather their belongings together. He then lifted Rayn into his arms, smirking.

"Can I get a sundae, Sir Draco?" Rayn asked.

"Anything as long as your Mother agrees. I'm buying."

"Yay!"

He led Iris and Rayn out of the park and to the black car that was parked in front of their trail. "Here we go." He opened the doors for the two, strapping in Rayn before seating himself in the front.

"How far is it?" Rayn asked. "Five minutes, maybe less." She chirped at his answer, contenting herself with gazing out the window of the small car.

* * *

When Harry returned that afternoon he immediately went to Hermione to tell her what had happened at the joke shop earlier that morning. Ron had gone grocery shopping with Mrs. Weasley and he hadn't come home by the time Harry got there. "So, he was buying shield and defense items?" Harry nodded. "It was probably just for himself, Harry. You know how Malfoy is." Hermione reasoned, tossing a ball to him for him to catch. He did, absently tossing it back to her. 

That was true. But it didn't explain why he had bought two of everything. He voiced this to Hermione who shook her head. "No. Its not suspicious behavior at all. He probably just wanted the added protection. If I didn't know better, I would say you were worried about him, Harry." She watched him carefully, gagging his reaction. He dropped the ball that he normally would have caught without a thought about it.

"What!"

"Harry…it was just a joke! I know you don't care about him. You've only told me and everyone else about five hundred times the last few years."

"It wasn't funny."

She sighed. Really, he was getting to be as thick as Ron. "I'm sorry." Hermione rolled her eyes, picking up the ball from the ground. "Look, I think you worry yourself too much about stupid things. Let Malfoy deal with his problems and you can deal with your own." She touched his arm comfortingly. "I don't think it's suspicious. I bet if you spoke to Fred and George they'd tell you that Malfoy isn't the first one to walk out of their shop with two of everything. You can never be too careful in times of war, Harry." Well, he could understand that but it was Malfoy and Malfoy was not a normal person.

"Please don't stress yourself out about this." Hermione said worryingly. "If you stress then Ginny will as well and we really don't need that added tension."

"Why would Ginny stress out because I'm stressing out about Malfoy?" Harry asked, taking the ball from Hermione and observing it. She sighed. He really was thick. "Just pretend I didn't say that." She muttered, making it easier for the both of them.

"Okay." Harry said, tossing her the ball. "So…How has you're research been?"

"It's been okay." Hermione shrugged. "I haven't found anything really valuable yet. Just bits and pieces of information. Professor Lupin is going to be bringing me more books from Hogwarts later this week. I'm looking forward to reading in some more. I like being able to help, even a little bit."

Harry nodded. He could relate to that, even if he hadn't been able to do much help for the war. He sighed. "You're doing a lot for the Order. I'm sure they appreciate it." He watched as Hermione's cheeks colored. "Oh, I do hope so! It takes up a lot of my time but I like it." Harry shook his head. Count on Hermione to be happily willing to give up her summertime to read old history books.

"As long as you enjoy doing it, I don't see any problem in it." He said. Hermione nodded. "That's what I like to think." She replied, throwing the ball back at him.

* * *

Draco returned to the picnic table with Rayn's sundae and two cones for Iris and himself. He passed them around before sitting down across from the ginger haired child. "Enjoy." 

"Thank you sir Draco!" Rayn giggled, spooning herself some of the ice cream. Draco watched her eat in silence. _She really is a beautiful girl. She'll be a charmer once she gets older. _He shook his head, licking his ice cream thoughtfully. He took to watching the other visitors like a hawk. He didn't want anyone that would know him to see him and he wasn't taking the chance at being followed.

He made light conversation when it was needed but mostly kept to his thoughts. _Iris really loves her. I wonder if that's what Mother used to look like when she watched over me. _It was both comforting and distressing to think about. He shook his head again, ridding himself of memories of his childhood. It wasn't in his best interest to think about that now. However, he was dragged back into the conversation when Iris suggested taking a few pictures. "I'd like to get one of you and Rayn, if you don't mind."

"No, of course not." He shrugged. Rayn giggled, rushing around the side of the table to join him. "Hunny, wait a moment, you've got ice cream all over your face."

"No!! Ice cream picture!"

"A what?"

"I think she wants to take a picture with her all messy…" Draco's voice trailed off, eyeing the little girl oddly for a moment but all she could do was beam at them.

"Alright…" Iris didn't seem to like this idea very much. "We can do that." Rayn climbed into Draco's lap then, ice cream smeared flatteringly around her face. Iris pulled a small camera out of her purse. "Smile,"

Before the light flashed, Rayn leaned in and pressed her ice cream covered lips to his cheek. The light flashed right at that moment. Draco blinked and Rayn giggled. The ice cream had been transferred onto his cheek. He bit his lip as he watched the picture come out of the bottom of the camera. "Do you…Would you mind if I kept that one?"

Iris looked up from the developing photo. "No, of course not…could I take another one then?" He nodded, cleaning off his cheek and Rayn's face before they posed for another, more serious photograph. She let them see the picture before putting it into her purse, along with the small camera. She then handed him his, smiling gently. "Thank you." She said.

Draco nodded. It was getting dark by the time they were done eating and had thrown their napkins away and Draco decided that they'd better be on their way back. "Aw! Sir Draco stays!" she whined, hugging him tightly. "No. I can't tonight. One day maybe."

* * *

Iris watched as Draco lifted her daughter up and carried her to the car. _They're quite the pair to watch. _She gently touched the small picture that was in her purse as she followed Draco to his car. Draco was good for Rayn and he had become her first real crush. At home, Rayn barely spoke of anything else. She'd never seen her daughter so happy before. She climbed into the car, listening to Rayn humming in the backseat. She had never had a father figure in her life. Iris had dated here and there but none had become fatherly to Rayn. Her real dad had disappeared one day, unexplainably and had not come back or gotten into contact. That had been a few months before Rayn's birth. Somehow, in a matter of days Draco had become that and more. 

"Where do you live from here?"

"The first right up this street." Iris said, pointing to the cobble-stoned street that was coming into view. "Then take another right down this road and you'll literally be right in front of our house. 7th Peach Tree Road, where do you live, Draco?"

"Just a little ways away," Draco answered lightly. "I see." Iris looked out the window. Through the rearview mirror she could see Rayn. Her daughter was asleep with her head against the window, hair splayed out behind her head. She smiled, looking up.

"This house," She said, pointing up ahead as he turned the second right. In front of the car was a small but nicely landscaped two story house. Draco pulled into the driveway, parking. "I'll carry her in, if you'd like." He stepped out and was immediately attacked by the strong smell of flowers. It reminded him of the Malfoy gardens. "Alright. I'll get the door for you."

He un-strapped Rayn carefully, trying not to wake her up. He lifted her out of the seat, following Iris inside of their home. "Her room is the second on the right, second floor." _Perfect. _He thought. Climbing up the stairs in the living room, Draco held Rayn to him. She stirred a little in his arms, her face pressed into the crook of his neck so he could feel her light breathing tickling the small hairs on the back of his neck. She felt so light asleep, feather-light even. He couldn't help but like the feel of it. He felt like he was protecting her and that was enough for him. He managed to get the door to her bedroom opened, slowly lowering her into her flower-decorated bed. Pulling the covers over her form, he left the room.

"Thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it. I covered her up for you."

"Would you like a cuppa tea before you go on your way?" Iris asked him, looking up from the small kitchen table. He shook his head lightly. "No, thank you. I couldn't possibly and I should be going. Tell Rayn I'll see her later, please?"

"I will, have a good night Draco." He smiled. "You too Iris." She sighed, left watching as he drove out of her driveway.

Draco sighed, staring lifelessly forward. He had one more stop to make before he returned home for the night. He knew for a fact that Severus would be at home. He rarely left his home during the summer holidays unless he was needed by Voldemort or at Hogwarts. Draco would have known of both and he hadn't had any word that he was to be expected else ware. He pulled the car into an evacuated parking lot, climbing out quickly. He had to make his trip fast before Narcissa got worried.

He looked around to make sure no Muggles were walking around before he apparated with a pop loud enough to echo through the silence. In an instant Draco found himself standing in front of an old, dirty looking home with dead grass and weeds littering the front yard. Scoffing, he hurried to the front door, knocking three times in a swift manner. Snape was expecting him to come that day and it seemed he was waiting by the door. As soon as Draco pulled his hand away from the door, it opened.

Severus Snape loomed over him, looking down at Draco over his abnormally large, hooked nose. Draco looked right back at him, walking into the foyer when Snape moved out of his way. "Hello Professor."

"Draco. Come in." He locked the door behind him, moving past Draco and leading him into the sitting room. "What was this important business that you had to tell me?" Draco sighed. He should have known Snape would jump right into business. He sat down, wringing his fingers together. "Have you heard of the Dark Lord's mission for me?"

"I have." Severus said, watching Draco calmly. His emotions were masked as he had perfected them to be but Draco was as open as an open book. "I can't do it, Professor. This family…that I'm supposed to kill, mean a bit too much to me. I don't know how it happened or why it happened but I can't kill them or let them be killed, do you understand?" If anything Snape must. He didn't look to see if Snape did or not, he continued with his story. "I'm…planning on making it look like I killed them. I'm sending the girl's mother away with a port-key that my mother gave to me when I was younger. It goes to the cabin we have in Ireland and I'm taking the girl with me. I'd take her mother too but it's far too risky to do both." Snape continued to watch him, a single brow raised as he listened. "I plan on going back for the mother and having her moved somewhere else, somewhere where Voldemort couldn't reach her but it was the best thing I could come up with in three days."

Snape raised a hand to stop him. "Where do you plan on bringing the girl, Draco?" He asked his voice so soft that he had to strain to hear what he had to say. Draco bit his lip, obviously uncomfortable with this question. Snape didn't move his gaze from Draco's eyes, observing. "That's what I came here to talk to you. I know…I know you work for the Order too." Snape took a breath in then. "You know where their hideout is. Rayn would be safe there."

Snape rubbed his forehead. He highly doubted that the Order would appreciate it if he dropped a young girl on them out of the blue but Draco was right in his assumption. For now it was probably the safest place for Rayn to be. "Please Professor. It's the only place I can think of for Rayn."

"The Order won't be happy with this. I have no time between now and tomorrow to inform them, do you realize that? We will be showing up in the midst of the night, throwing a girl into their hands."

"We?" Draco asked.

"Do you possibly think you will find their headquarters without my knowledge, Draco? You highly disregard their powers." Snape stood up, walking towards the kitchen. What was going on in the boy's head? This certainly wasn't that Draco he had known. Even so, he didn't know whether or not Draco's plan would work in the first place. "Tell me you're plan."

Draco suddenly grinned. "I'm going to go to their home a few hours before I'm supposed to go and kill them. I'm going to explain what's going on and why I need them to go. Hopefully they won't question me too much. I'll give Iris the port-key from my mother and send her off to our cabin. I'll take Rayn and hide her out of sight until I'm done. I don't know where yet. I'll transfigure two ordinary objects into Rayn and Iris. There is a spell that my mother showed me that will make two inanimate objects look and act real." He explained quietly, brows furrowed together. "I can control them on my own whim. They will do whatever I command them too if the spell works like the book said…then I will go back home to my father and go to the scene with him. I will kill the transfigured Rayn and Iris…tell my father I'm going to mother, who's scheduled to be out of the house if I can, grab Rayn and bring her to the Order before the sunrises." Saying it aloud made everything seem even more impossible to do.

Snape listened, his back still turned to Draco. It was risky and Snape knew what could happen. Draco would be killed in an instant if something went wrong. "Do you know how risky a situation this is?"

"I do but I can't kill Rayn or Iris." He sighed. "I've thought about it and…I'd rather risk my life then have them die just because they happened to make friends with the wrong sort." Draco explained, standing up to follow Snape into the other room. "You do understand, right?"

Truly Snape did not. However he was trying to make himself understand in hopes of helping his godson figure out a less risky plan but at this rate there was little else they could do except to wait and see what would happen tomorrow night. Snape just hoped that it would work in the young Malfoy's favor.

"I think it's stupid of you." Snape concluded, turning to Draco with a flourish. "This is exactly something that Harry Potter and his friends would pull. However, I can see that you cannot be forced to see differently and I will help to a certain extent. I will bring the girl to the Order with you and you will more then likely be forced to stay there a few extra days so that they can question you. Be warned of what you say while with them. They will be suspicious of your actions, Draco." He said calmly, looking at the clock on his wall. "Do you want me to take Rayn after you get her out of the house?"

Draco looked up at him. "Yes. Hide her here until I can take her to the Order's hideout with you. I will probably put a spell on her to make her sleep so she doesn't have to live this out." He said lightly, looking worn and exhausted. Snape disappeared into the kitchen again and Draco could hear him rummaging around in one of the cabinets. "Go home and take one of these," He lifted a small vial for Draco to see. "Dreamless Sleep Potion," he explained. "Take it, sleep well and get ready to act." Draco took the vial from him with a nod of thanks. "I will get in contact with you by the afternoon."

"Thank you, Professor." Draco turned then, stuffing the vial into his pocket and headed for the door. "And Draco?" He looked over his shoulder at the older man. "Yes?" He asked. "Be carefully." Draco smiled a little then, unlocking the door and walking out into the night.

Snape massaged his temples when the door closed again. _He has no idea what he is getting himself into. _He thought, turning with a flourish and striding down the back hall.

* * *

_End of Chapter Four..._


	5. Avada Kedavra

**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter Five: **Avada Kedavra  
**Author: **RistvakBaen  
**Authors Notes: **Sorry this one is a bit late! This chapter was particularly hard to write. Unfortunatly it is not edited. I don't have a beta at this time but I'm working on it. Onto the story!

* * *

Hermione sat silently in her bedroom, a small book open in her lap and she was skimming through it carelessly. Downstairs, the Order of the Phoenix was holding another small meeting and, as always, they were not allowed to attend. She was trying to find more information about Voldemort and so far this book hadn't been particularly helpful at all. It was a damper to her normally high-spirited mood. She had gone as far as secluding herself away in her bedroom since Wednesday afternoon, after her talk with Harry. This book was one of spells and curses, some of which made her intestines clench in disgust and left her feeling sick. A sound at the door made her look up. "Come in." 

The door opened and Harry walked inside. "The meeting is over with. Tonks and Kingsley are going to be staying for dinner." He explained, frowning at his best friend. He had barely seen her since yesterday and it wasn't like Hermione to distance herself.

"Okay, great." She said.

"What are you reading about today?" He asked.

"Spells," Hermione explained. "You should read this. Some of them are just horrible but they really are quite fascinating. Did you know there are some spells to tell the future and to who you're soul mate is?"

This sprinkled his interest. "Really? The future?"

"Oh yes. In here they say that Artemis Lee invented it. There's just one problem with this spell. Artemis Lee died a sudden death and no one knows what happened to him. Every witch or wizard that has tried it since has died soon after. It's quite sad, really…"

Harry sat down besides her on the bed, reading over her shoulder. "They all died? Just like that?" He asked.

"Yes. Every action in this world will bare a consequence and the consequence of knowing the future, in this case, is your own death." She sighed. "Something's are just not meant to be known until they happen." She wanted to see the true effects of this spell even if that was never completely possible.

He nodded and she shut the book with a snap. "That spell makes me wonder. I wonder if they saw themselves dying." Hermione said, glancing to Harry thoughtfully. "What do you think?"

"Maybe the spell doesn't show the future? That it was just made to seem like it? How would anyone really know if they die suddenly afterwards with no chance to write down what they saw?" Harry countered. Hermione was speechless. How had she not thought of that? It made her itch to try the spell even more.

"I suppose we should go downstairs for dinner then?" Harry nodded and with her help, stood up. Together the pair made their way towards the dining room in compatible silence.

* * *

The storms were back at full throttle throughout dinner. Tonks was the chatterbox of the day, chatting merrily with anyone who happened to look her way. Laughing and telling stories about what had been going on the last few weeks. Surprisingly enough there had been no attacks and the Ministry had been pretty quiet.

"But there haven't been any attacks lately?"

"No, shockingly enough, there hasn't been a hint of movement from the Death Eaters." Tonks replied with a nod of her head. "It's been kind of boring and they still have us out doing stakeouts."

"What I would give to be out there with you guys." Ron murmured admiringly. It was a well known fact that Ron wanted to be an Auror once he graduated from Hogwarts. He had taken keen interest in chatting with the Auror's that were a part of the Order.

"Don't you say that, Ronald Weasley! I will not have you talking like that in this house." Molly snapped, shoving a fork into his face threateningly. "You are very lucky to be in this house where it is safe!"

Harry resisted the urge to announce that no one was safe anymore. By the looks on everyone's faces, they knew this fact just as well. Not the Order, not the Muggles, not the Death Eaters, no one. He exchanged a look with Ron that went unnoticed by Mrs. Weasley. They grinned lightly, moving to spoon some vanilla pudding onto their plates.

"Well…" Tonks seemed just as uneasy now after Mrs. Weasley's trust of her fork into Ron's face. "That was…eventful."

"It was, wasn't it?" Everyone left at the table turned their heads to face Ginny. This was the first time she had spoken since last night. "What?" she asked.

"That's the first time you've spoken during dinner."

"That was because I was eating, Ron." She rolled her eyes in frustration and Ron's cheeks blossomed in color.

"You didn't have to say that, Gin. He was just answering your question." Ginny opened her mouth to say something to Hermione but Tonks raised her hand into the air, successfully cutting her off. Harry frowned as he studied Ginny. There was definitely something off about her today.

"Can we please talk about something more cheerful?" Tonks seemed a lot more frustrated and exhausted then she had at the beginning of their dinner. He watched in silence as her hair got duller and duller in color when it had been bright, hot-pink only a few minutes ago. Ginny left the table with Fred and George which left only Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tonks at the table. "Better yet, how about I pick up and you guys go to bed? It's getting pretty late."

"I guess we could do that…but it's really not all that late." Tonks turned a dark glare onto him and Hermione grabbed his arm. "C'mon." She whispered, taking Harry's as well and leading them out of the kitchen. The sound of china shattering caused them to look back and they heard Tonks swear. Her frown deepened, dragging them upstairs. "It was best that we get out of there soon anyway. Tonks looked tired all of a sudden."

Ron pouted. "I'm still not tired though. Can't we hang around downstairs?"

"No. You're so thick, Ronald. Let's just go upstairs and play a game of Exploding Snap or something. We're only getting in the way if we stay downstairs." Ron gave in them, climbing up the stairs behind Hermione. "Thank you." She said once they entered her room.

Ginny was already there, lying on her bed and reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly. "Hi."

"Hullo." Ron looked down at his sister. "What are you doing, Ginny?"

Hermione laid down on her own bed, trying to figure out what had made Tonks change so suddenly. _It's just not like Tonks at all. She was doing so well…she seemed really happy. _"I just don't get it."

"Get what?" Ginny asked. Ignoring Ron's question she slipped the magazine beneath her pillow and sat up.

"Tonks," Hermione said. "She was fine and then bam, she was out of it. Right after Mrs. Weasley yelled at Ron."

"She's probably just tired. I know most of the Order members are. You can see it on their faces." Ginny said lightly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah but it still doesn't explain why she was all smiles and then bam, it was like her happiness died away or something."

"Don't worry about Tonks. I've been talking to her a lot lately and I'm positive that she is alright." The ginger-haired girl smiled. "Did you know Snape stopped by again today? I heard him talking to Dad on the way upstairs. I didn't even hear him come in."

"Did you hear what they were talking about?"

"Not really. I didn't hang around too long. I heard something about the Order and You-Know-Who." Ginny answered, looking towards Harry, who frowned.

"That's twice that Snape has been here in a row. What were they saying about Voldemort?"

Ginny shook her head again. "Please don't say his name, Harry. I told you, I really didn't hear what they were saying." She said. "I didn't want to be caught eavesdropping so I left to my room." Hermione shook her head.

"I don't think its anything to worry about."

"Like Tonks?"

"Ginny that was completely different. I'm not worried about Snape but I am worried about Tonks. Tonks is our friend and Snape…well, you know."

She scoffed but returned to her magazine.

"I'm going to go to bed, guys." Harry hugged Hermione and Ginny before nodding at Ron. "See you in the morning." Harry turned and walked out of the girl's bedroom, lost in thought. If Snape was visiting more often it had to mean that he knew something, right? As much as Harry did not like to admit it, he knew what a powerful wizard Snape was and he knew that he was a double agent all this time. _He might know what the Death Eaters have been doing all this time. Even Tonks said it was unusual for them not to have moved for this long. _He opened the door to his bedroom, walking inside.

The room lit up from a crack of lightning and Harry shuddered. Undressing he tried to rid himself of his thoughts about Snape and Tonks and what Voldemort might be doing at that moment. He still hadn't gotten them out of his mind by the time he laid his head down and drifted to sleep.

* * *

days had been spent practicing the spells that he would need when he left for Rayn's house. It was a difficult spell to learn but with his mother helping as much as she could, he had managed to perform it decently. By no means was it perfect but at least the furniture he had been transfiguring bore a close resemblance. 

The textbook his mother had left him had explained the spell as well as the aftereffects.

_The Res_ _Anhelo_

Stuffing the transfiguration text book beneath his mattress, Draco left quickly. It was getting late and he had to move fast if he wanted to get to Rayn's house with enough time to explain.

Draco pulled up to the house, checking the clock. 8:00. He still had an hour to explain the situation to Iris and get her and Rayn out of the house before Lucius came to get him for his mission.

He knocked quickly on the door, stuffing his wand into the back pocket of his jeans. He called for Iris, He heard the lock clicking on the other side of the door and he soon came face to face with Iris. "Draco! What are you doing here?" She asked, letting him in.

"I need to ask you a very big favor. Is Rayn around?"

"No. She is asleep right now." Iris said, looking worried. She had never seen Draco look quite so worried. Granted she hadn't known him very long at all but it worried her all the same. "Sure. What is it?" She asked.

"I need you to leave the country." He absently thought that that might not have been the best way to approach the subject but he was in a hurry and he had no time to slide around. He glanced at the clock before he turned back to her. She was staring at him as if he had just asked her to jump off a cliff. "You want me to _what?_"

"I need you to pack up some things and leave the country. I don't have the time to explain everything. There is a group of people coming after you tonight-"Iris opened her mouth to speak but he raised his hand to stop her. "You have to believe me! You need to leave the country for a few weeks. I have a place already situated where you can stay."

"Why would people want to come after Rayn and I? We've never done anything."

"I'm a wizard." Iris stared at him. "They are coming after you…because of me."

"You are a _what?"_

"A wizard." Draco didn't dare look her in the eye. He wouldn't be able to take seeing her look of shocked disbelief. She probably thought he was mental and Draco wouldn't have blamed her. "In our world – the Wizarding world – there is a Lord…who went bad." Iris scoffed. "Believe me. He went as bad as you can possibly get." Draco took a deep breath before summing up Voldemort to Iris. He knew as he watched her face that she didn't believe a word that he was saying. He explained Lucius and how they had found out about her and her daughter and his mission from the Dark Lord. When he was finished, Iris was glaring at him.

"So these…these _Death Eaters _are coming after my daughter and I because of you?"

Draco averted his gaze and nodded slowly, painfully. "Yes."

"How…how could you do this, Draco?!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen. I don't know how my father found out about you." Draco said. He knew that didn't make up for anything. "I found out a way that I can make it seem that I have killed you and Rayn without actually doing it but in order for it to work, I need you to flee the country."

"How do I know any of this is true?"

Draco pulled out his wand, showing it to Iris. "Watch this." He raised his wand hand. Iris watched on as he performed a strange flicking movement. "Wingardium Leviosa." Her eyes went wide as the cake pan in the sink raised up and floated towards them. He took the pan out of thin air and put it down on the counter, pocketing his wand. Draco turned to Iris. Her eyes were wide and her slender fingers covered her open mouth. "Oh my Lord…" she whispered.

Draco nodded lightly. "I know this is a bit of a shock for you-"

"Shock doesn't even begin to cover it!" Iris said, finding her voice after a moment. "Draco, you come barging into my home telling me that you're a…a wizard and that I have to leave the country! How am I supposed to react?"

At least she didn't faint from shock, Draco thought. "Iris, I promise I will come and explain everything to you but right now I need you to go."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

Draco pulled out a small necklace from his pocket. It was in the shape of a small teardrop, made of pure silver on a silver chain. "This is a portkey. This will bring you to a safe haven that belongs to my mother. The house has a charm upon it that does not let anyone else, muggle or wizard to see it unless they have clear instructions from the Secret Keeper. I am your secret keeper. No one can get the directions without my approval." He handed the necklace to her; she took it with trembling hands. "I ask you one thing…until I am absolutely certain that you are safe there…" What he said next was sure to offend her. "I ask you to let me keep Rayn. I know of a place where she can stay. As soon as the details are figured out, I'll bring her to your safe haven."

The answer he got surprised Draco. "As long as she is safe." It shouldn't have. It was a well known fact that a mothers love was the strongest kind of love and that a mother would do anything to protect her child. Draco smiled sadly, feeling even worse about taking Rayn away from her. "She will be, Iris. I swear upon my life that I won't let anything happen to her."

"How does this work?"

"In ten minutes it will activate. The effects of the portkey are not at all pleasurable but they're gone as quickly as they come. You'll find yourself in front of a cabin – its much larger then it looks. Don't go anywhere. I've personally made sure that you'll have enough provisions until I can come and visit you."

"Can I say goodbye to Rayn?"

"Yes, quickly. Come back down here before your time is done, and bring Rayn down with you. I've got a few more things to explain." She nodded and, looking shaken up, left the kitchen to hurry up to Rayn's bedroom. Draco then set himself to work. He conjured up two additional kitchen chairs. "_Wingardium Leviosa_." He whispered, and he walked into the living room, the two chairs floating in the air behind him. He set them down and began to concentrate.

He stared long and hard at the kitchen chairs. He concentrated on the images of Rayn and Iris, Rayn's red hair and sparkling blue eyes. How she sounded when she said, "Sir Draco" and how she walked with a bounce in her step. Like that of an innocent, carefree child. Iris' black hair and blue eyes, intelligent and young. A young woman who had been through far too much, far too quickly.

"_Res Anhelo_!" He performed the quick wrist movement, never once letting his mind wander. Slowly but surely the two kitchen chairs began to bear resemblance to Rayn and Iris. He held the spell, clenching his teeth painfully. He could feel his magic being drained away with the power of the spell.

Just as he was beginning to see black, the spell was done and before him stood two exact replicas of Rayn and Iris. Breathing, moving replicas.

The smile on Draco's face was bright enough to light up the entire room. His face fell at the sudden yelp from behind him. Quickly, he turned. Rayn was standing in the doorway, her face full of fear. Iris' look wasn't any more pleasant. Though she knew what they were, in a sense, it didn't take away the shock of seeing a identical replica sitting on her living room couch. "Be still my heart…"

"Sir D-draco?" Rayn stammered, hiding behind her mothers leg. "What are…"

Draco cut her off. "Did you say your goodbyes?" He asked Iris. He took a good look of her not long after. Tracks of silent tears poured from her eyes to her chin and he knew his answer before she even spoke. "Yes." Her voice was no louder then a shrill whisper. "The portkey is going to…activate soon, yeah?" she asked.

He nodded. "Rayn, I promise I will tell you everything but right now I need you to do me a favor." He pulled out a small hip flask from his pocket and handed it to her. "It doesn't taste very good but I need you to take it." She clung to the flask, looking up at Iris for approval.

She nodded. "I love you,"

Rayn smiled at the gesture of affection. "Love you too, mommy." She said, although confused. She drank the dark liquid contents. Iris watched nervously and then suddenly, Rayn toppled over. Draco caught her before she hit the ground with a flick of his wand.

"She'll be out cold for the next two hours. She's going to stay with a close friend of mine. He'll be here…ah, here he comes."

Iris, shocked beyond belief and scared twirled around quickly to see a black figure appear out of thin air in front of her house. The doorbell rang and Draco spoke something that Iris didn't catch in her daze. Too much had happened in so little time. Severus Snape strode into the now open door, thanks to Draco's spell. "We're in the sitting room, Professor."

"P-Professor?"

"He teaches me at school." Draco explained. The towering, dark figure of Snape walked quickly into the sitting room. He looked at the young girl, then her mother and then at Draco in quick precision. His eyes bypassed the two replicas entirely.

"I trust you've explained everything?"

"Yes Professor. She's said her goodbyes and the portkey is about to activate."

Snape nodded. "Once you're done with Lucius, I expect you at my house, Draco and then we'll take you to the Order and let them deal with you."

"Do they know?"

"Not quite." Snape pulled out a wand of his own, issuing a watery gasp from Iris, and waved it at the daughter. She rose up from the ground, hanging lifelessly in midair. "Be careful, Draco." Snape took the floating girl into his arms and then he was gone with a loud crack. Iris screamed, slinking back in fear.

"Apparation. Means to transfer from one place to the other."

He looked at his watch. "Iris, be careful. I'll bring Rayn to you as soon as I can." He hugged the elder woman. "I am so sorry for getting you both into this." He had only apologized a few times in his life. Draco was shocked to hear it flow so easily from his lips.

Iris didn't hug him back, too stiff and tense to do much of anything. "Be careful." He said again, backing away. "Hold on tightly to the portkey it should activate…now."

In a blink of an eye, Iris disappeared in a similar fashion of Snape. The last thing he saw was her terror struck eyes. He closed his own tightly, willing away every other emotion from inside him. He didn't have time to worry. He had to have a clear mind in order to do this. "Iris, Rayn."

Two faces turned to look at him. "Rayn, go upstairs to bed. Iris, watch the telly." On his orders, young Rayn said goodnight, skipping towards the stairs and Iris grabbed the remote control. "Stay like this." Was his final order before he disappeared.

* * *

Harry slept soundly. Through the rain, the thunder and the lightning. Ron lay asleep in his bed, peaceful and unaware. Neither knew at that moment, a situation that would change their lives was unfolding. Across the country, a mother screamed, protecting her daughter, as a cold voice whispered, _Avada Kedavra, _and a ghostly green light lit up a small house. 

All was still.

* * *

_End of Chapter Five..._


End file.
